A Windsor social worker, convicted of child luring, is seeking to serve his sentence in the community.
Shaun Ouellette, 47, is the subject of a sentencing hearing where his lawyer has requested a sentence of 18 months of house arrest, followed by two years of probation.
Court proceedings revealed that Ouellette, who practiced from his home at the time of the 2024 offences, communicated online with a minor who was undergoing therapy and provided that minor with alcohol.
The Crown is opposing the defence’s request, arguing that Ouellette abused his position of trust and that the nature of the offences committed at home warrants a jail sentence.
Should the judge consider a jail sentence, the defence aims to have it reduced due to conditions at the South West Detention Centre.
Ouellette has already spent 160 days in jail, with his lawyer asserting the majority was spent in lockdown or in overcrowded cells.
The Crown disputes these claims, stating lockdown periods constituted only about eight per cent of his time incarcerated. Ouellette himself maintains his innocence of the child luring charge.
Justice Christine Malott is scheduled to deliver the sentence at a future court date.
Separately, Ouellette is still facing multiple other charges, including sexual interference, sexual assault, uttering a threat, fraud, possession of property obtained by crime, and breaching a release order. These matters are set to return to court in November.